VisualTour.com™ Contact: J. L. Winn, TRF Systems, Inc.
JLWinn@VisualTour.com 954.345.9701 ext 220

Source: By Mike Patrick, Online Editor - National Relocation & Real Estate Magazine, August 1, 2001

Not too long ago, a couple was looking over some listings at Prudential Florida WCI Realty. Among the several homes the agent showed them was a house the couple immediately turned down-they didn't like the exterior, and wouldn't even go to visit it.

When the couple returned home, they found the listing for that house on Prudential WCI's Web site. Since the listing featured a VisualTour "virtual tour," the couple got an extensive look at the inside of the house. They loved it, returned to the office and bought the house.

"A lot of the homes that don't appeal on the exterior might be great on the interior. VisualTour gets the buyers inside without having to make the effort to visit the house," says Roger A. Herman, president and broker of Prudential Florida WCI Realty. "We're extremely happy how this has worked for us." Based in Plantation, Florida, Prudential Florida WCI Realty has experienced incredible growth in the two years since it became a Prudential affiliate, expanding to 24 offices and 1,000 agents.

And from the beginning, Herman knew that offering online virtual tours of its listings would be a big part of the way his firm did business. Herman says he considered several virtual tour providers before deciding VisualTour met his needs the best. "We actually evaluated all the different options," he says. "Most of what I saw is that the virtual tour technology was more of an expense after you got the listing. We saw it as more of a marketing tool."

That means, while it was Herman's goal to have a virtual tour of nearly all of the company's several thousand listings, he also wanted each of his agents armed with a standard digital camera that could create a tour right in front of a prospect's eyes - before the listing was even obtained.

"We can include the seller in the process and we can have the virtual tours online literally at the listing appointment, if we want."

VisualTour doesn't actually create the tour. Instead, it provides its customers all the tools and software they need to create tours themselves. Then, VisualTour charges its customers to post the tours online (although users can e-mail an unlimited number of tours to clients at no charge).

"One of the nice things about using VisualTour is not only do we do a tour of the house, we do it of the neighborhood-golf courses, pools, etc. We can include up to 50 scenes," he says. "When it's beautiful landscape, people like to see that. You can walk them up and down the street. We do that because there's no added expense for us to do that."

Plus, the tours can include narration, music, the company's logo and the agent's contact information, and will be available online for up to six months. Any digital camera is capable of taking VisualTour images.

"We require every listing have a virtual tour. Every office has VisualTour software, and every office has a digital camera," he says. There's no doubt, he adds, that VisualTour technology has helped his bottom line.

In 2000, his company, which two years ago had only 70 agents, closed just over $1 billion on 5,000 transactions.

"We made a commitment to it and it's a commitment to our consumers and to our agents that we are grasping new technology and not just talking about it," he says. "It was an expense for our company and an expense worthwhile. It was one that has paid off for our consumers."

About VisualTour

VisualTour (www.VisualTour.com) is developed by TRF Systems, Inc. of Coral Springs, Florida. Incorporated in 1991, TRF Systems is the leading provider of innovative digital photo management software and services in a number of vertical markets. VisualTour.com is recommended by the Council of Residential Specialists, the Allen F. Hainge CyberStarsä™, and the Real Estate CyberSpace Society. For more information, please contact J. L. Winn at TRF Systems at 954.345.9701 or by email at JLWinn@VisualTour.com. VisualTour.com is a trademark of TRF Systems.